Learn about important dates in French and francophone history: famous birthdays, holidays and celebrations, and other milestones. If the above does not match today's date or you wish to choose a specific date, please click here

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Birthdays

1576 - Giovanni Diodati (Swiss Protestant clergyman)

1606 - Pierre Corneille (French dramatist)

1622 - Claude-Jean Allouez (French Jesuit missionary and explorer)

1916 - Hamani Diori (first president of Niger)

1934 - King Albert II of Belgium

1968 - François Avard (Canadian writer and scenarist)

Deaths

1813 - Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart (French architect)

1840 - Marcellin Champagnat (French priest)

1881 - Henri Vieuxtemps (Belgian composer)

1891 - John A.

Macdonald (1st Prime Minister of Canada)

1948 - Louis Lumière (French movie pioneer)

1962 - Yves Klein (French artist)

Holidays/Celebrations

D-Day (French: le jour J)

Milestones/Events

1513 - Italian Wars: Battle of Novara - Swiss troops defeated the French, forcing them to abandon Milan

1832 - Barricades fell and the Paris student uprisings ended

1906 - Paris Métro Line 5 was inaugurated with a first section from Place d'Italie to the Gare d'Orléans (today: Gare d'Austerlitz)

1918 - WWI: Battle of Belleau Wood began

1944 - World War II: Battle of Normandy - D-Day commenced with the landing of 155,000 Allied troops on the beaches - the largest amphibious military operation in history

Errors and Omissions

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